Graduate Student Union Protest Disrupts Class of 2026 Baccalaureate Events

More than 70 members of the Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Auto Workers protested during Tuesday’s Baccalaureate events for the Class of 2026, as the union’s strike entered its sixth week and drew mixed reactions from seniors in attendance.

Union members handed out flyers as students and guests filed into Harvard Yard before the ceremony. Afterward, during a dessert reception for students, families, and faculty, protesters marched into the event. Several seniors said the union was loudest during University President Alan M. Garber ’76’s speech, with some reporting screams and sirens during his remarks.

“When I first heard it, I wasn’t really sure what was happening,” Adam S. Mohamed ’26 said. “It was like a scream.”

“It drew out this feeling of, like, ‘Oh my God, what’s happening?’” he added.

Fiona Millan ’26 called the protest “disruptive.”

“It definitely took away from the main speech, especially Garber’s speech,” she said.

But other seniors said the protest did not affect their experience.

“They weren’t disruptive at all. They understood that we were celebrating, and I didn’t mind them at all,” Eunice Chon ’26 said.

Ishan Tiwari ’26 said he was “very glad” the union was there.

Tiwari, who read from a Buddhist text during the ceremony, added that the union was considerate of student speakers.

“I really appreciated them being mindful, because that was incredible,” Tiwari said.

Evan R. Lemire, vice president of HGSU-UAW, defended the union’s decision to picket Commencement events.

“Commencement is happening, but we are still on strike, and we are still engaging in strike activities,” he said.

“Many of the people that are graduating are our students and our friends. We want to be celebratory and we want to congratulate them, we want this to be a good experience for them, but we also want our message to be heard,” Lemire added.

Lemire said the union timed its march for the dessert reception in an effort to avoid disrupting student speakers.

HGSU-UAW began its strike in April. Now the longest strike in the union’s history, it is set to continue through Commencement unless the University makes progress on five key demands: paid immigration leave, an agency shop, a grievance process for harassment and discrimination, paid medical leave, and pay parity between teaching fellows and research assistants.

—Staff writer Sebastian B. Connolly can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at sbc.23. Follow him on X @SebastianC4784.

—Staff writer Summer E. Rose can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at ser.85. Follow her on X @summerellenrose.